Belle
Princess Belle ("Belle" meaning "beautiful" in French) is the female protagonist of Beauty and the Beast and the protagonist of its direct-to-video midquels, The Enchanted Christmas and Belle's Magical World. In all of the above media, her speaking and singing voices are provided by Broadway icon, Paige O'Hara. In 2011, Julie Nathanson assumed the role as Belle's official voice actress, beginning with Kinect Disneyland Adventures. Belle is the fifth official Disney Princess, between Ariel and Princess Jasmine. Info Appearance Belle is a very attractive 17-year old girl; however, she is modestly beautiful because she doesn't give much thought to her own appearance. Although she is known throughout her village for her beauty, she isn't vain or concerned about her looks, but ironically greatly aware that her fellow citizens think of her as "odd" and "peculiar". Belle pays very little attention to her appearance, unlike the very much conceited Gaston, whom only wishes to wed her because she is attractive and cares little for her personality, her intelligence (he hates the very idea of a woman thinking or reading) or the way she wants to live her life. Belle has long brown hair that hangs just past her shoulders, most often tied back in a low ponytail, and possesses captivating hazel eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks, and a sculpted figure. One of her more distinct features are the strands of hair that are constantly slipping loose from her ponytail and falling in front of her face, she is often seen brushing them back into place when nervous or trying to be polite. Throughout the film, Belle wears various outfits depending on the occasion. Her most elaborate and renowned is her golden ball gown, in which she shares her first dance with the Beast in the "Beauty and the Beast" sequence. With this outfit, she wears some of her hair in a neat bun, but the majority of it trails down her neck in a beautiful, flowing motion, resembling a ponytail. The storywriters and producers of Beauty and the Beast wanted to give Belle's movements an air of elegance, so they studied the movements of ballerinas during the course of Belle's development. Like ballerinas, Belle walks diligently and swiftly on her toes no matter what types of shoes she is wearing, or where she is located. The designers and artists wanted Belle to be more noticeable in a crowd, so they payed extra close attention to her wardrobe, making sure that Belle would be the only member of the town to wear blue, whilst the other townsfolk sported more rustic and earthy colors, such as red, green, orange and brown. Personality Belle has gained a significant amount of intelligence over the years due to her love of books, providing her with a wide vocabulary, active imagination and open mind. She is very confident and outspoken in her opinions, and seldom likes being told what to do. Unlike most characters in the film, Belle isn't concerned about hers or other's appearances, and is able to look past how people appear and into their hearts. This is how Belle managed to break the Beast's enchantment, and restore love and laughter to the castle. Belle is somewhat a women's-libber for her time, and refuses to be mistreated, undermined, demeaned or controlled by any man, especially and specifically Gaston (in fact, he makes it quite clear that his ideal marriage with Belle includes her having "six or seven" good-looking sons with him, massaging his feet, cooking his dinner, scrubbing the floors, and above all, no reading as he considers intelligence in women to be ridiculous; this is taken one step further in his song in the musical, in which he sings that womankind "occasionally" serves a purpose in marriage, specifically "extending the family tree"). However, Belle willingly listens to her father, Maurice, and considers the opinions and directions of the Beast, because they are both able to treat her as an equal (the Beast eventually learned how throughout the course of the film), while Gaston is not. She is quite obstinate when it comes to stating her points, upholding her opinions, and maintaining her ideas. Belle is also adventurous and curious, even after being trapped in her little town for so long. Belle's personality transforms throughout the film. At first, she frequently dreams about a life of adventure and romance, not realizing that sometimes adventures might take a turn for the worst. As Belle begins to spend more time with the Beast, and their relationship blossoms into a strong friendship, she begins to fall in love with him without realizing it. As she matures during the course of her imprisonment, her pure heart breaks the enchantment. Belle realizes that having dreams is great, but sometimes you need to look beyond them and find what you're truly looking for. Abilities Most of Belle's abilities are based on knowledge and intelligence, instead of physical strength. One of Belle's more obvious abilities is her use of vocabulary. Possibly due to her love of books and constant reading, Belle is able to call out many words off the top of her head and use them in the correct context in order to prove a point or state a fact, such as "primeval" and "provincial". Belle is quite witty, and is able to use this trait to her advantage. When in an argument with the Beast, Belle was able to hold her ground and challenge each of the Beast's points with a cunning comeback, such as "If you hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have run away", or "You should learn to control your temper." Each of these facts left the Beast stunned and at a loss for words. Belle managed to think of these comebacks without much thought or hesitation. When Lumière and Cogsworth were attempting to lead Belle's curiosity away from the West Wing, she challenged them by saying the West Wing wouldn't be forbidden if the Beast wasn't hiding something in it, also briefly stunning them. Belle has a strong sense of character, and is able to use this trait in a variety of ways, even to her own advantage. On Belle's first night in the castle, following the "Be Our Guest" sequence, she develops an urge to explore the castle, and asks for a guide. Observing Cogsworth's "authoritative" personality, she immediately knows that Cogsworth would be the best candidate. At first, Cogsworth is quite reluctant of the idea, but when Belle says she's sure he knows everything about the castle, he agrees. Although Belle is quite ignorant of her own beauty, she does somewhat manage to use her feminine charm to her advantage. When Gaston proposed to Belle, she pretended to be clueless and at a loss for words, however, she was secretly leading Gaston toward the door, and when cornered against it, opened it and sent him flying into a mud pond. Although Belle displays few athletic abilities, she is able to ride a horse at quite stunning speeds with ease and skill, and subconsciously navigate her way through a crowded street while reading, without colliding with any other people or objects (although having several near-misses). Story in Beauty and the Beast Belle is a young woman living in a small unnamed French village. Although she is well known for her beauty and friends with the villagers she feels out of place there and longs for adventure and excitement and does not want to be the "little wife" of conceited, arrogant, muscleheaded hunter Gaston. Her father, Maurice, goes to a fair with his newest invention, but gets lost. Belle rides to a mysterious castle on her horse in possibility of finding him. She finds her father locked away in a dungeon, and begs the dungeon master to free him, offering her own freedom in exchange for her father's. On the condition that she stay with him forever, the dungeon master, a hideous beast, frees Maurice from the dungeon, however he is deeply moved by her beauty and affection towards her father, and can't help but feel touched by her boldness and bravery. Belle is originally hesitant to interact with the Beast, but after he saves her from a pack of wolves and develops a more civilized manner, aided by enchanted furnishings, a bond is formed. The Beast gives Belle his enormous library and Belle helps him to act more like a gentleman. The Beast falls deeply in love with her, but fears that she will ever love him in return. Belle is soon granted right to leave on behalf of her sickly father, who tries to rescue her. But after denying Gaston her hand in marriage again, a mob of villagers, led by Gaston, plots against the Beast. After a grueling tussle between Gaston and Beast, the Beast is fatally stabbed. Gaston falls to his death when he loses his balance. Belle is able to lay the Beast on a balcony, and he dies in her arms. Belle sobs over the Beast's dead body and confesses her love for him just as the last petal falls from the enchanted rose. Belle's love for the Beast revives him and releases him from the curse, and he along with his furnishings return to human beings. Belle and the Prince then dance in the ballroom with her father and his servants watching happily. In Kingdom Hearts Belle is one of the Princesses of Heart who appeared in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. For Kingdom Hearts, she spoke using dialogue boxes, but in Kingdom Hearts II her role was greatly expanded and she was voiced by her original voice actress, Paige O'Hara. Kingdom Hearts Belle's first appearance is a stained-glass likeness of her depicted on top of a yellow-colored pillar in the Awakening world.She was asleep in the artwork, suggesting that she has already been captured by Maleficent at that time. Belle has been living somewhat happily at the Beast's Castle, becoming closer to the Beast everyday, despite his hideous form and uneven temperament. One day, however, Belle is kidnapped by Maleficent as part of the plot to obtain Kingdom Hearts. The Heartless consume her world, causing all of its enchanted inhabitants to disappear into darkness. But the Beast manage to survive the destruction of his world, and pursue Belle, using corridors of darkness to reach her at Hollow Bastion. Maleficent puts Belle into an enchanted sleep and places her in an upstanding glass case alongside the other Princesses of Heart. She then uses all of the Princesses' hearts to open the Final Keyhole. At the same time, the Beast witnesses a vision of Belle transforming into a Heartless (although this is not what actually occurred, as the princesses lack darkness in their hearts, and cannot become Heartless). Belle's heart is later restored by the bravery of Sora, and she is released from her enchantment. She separates from her fellow princesses and, due to her passion for books, goes to Hollow Bastion's library in search of ways to stop the darkness. Happily reunited with the Beast at last, she explains as best she could to Sora what has occurred in Hollow Bastion during his brief departure, and then gives him the Divine Rose Keychain. When Sora finally sealed Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast return home together. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories The following events are really a corruption of Sora's memories from Kingdom Hearts, and thus they do not actually occur in the Kingdom Hearts reality. Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter Sora's memories of Hollow Bastion through Castle Oblivion only to find Belle and the Beast in a heated argument near Hollow Bastion's entrance. The Beast attempts to explain to Belle that he has come from very far to rescue her from Maleficent, but Belle insists that the Beast leave as she has no interest in talking to him. She eventually retreats to Hollow Bastion's library, leaving the Beast in depressed confusion. Sora and his friends later find Belle in the library, and attempt to understand her oddly cold attitude towards the Beast. However, before she could explain, Maleficent enters and demands that Belle call the Beast. When she refuses to do so, Maleficent transports herself and Belle to a different area of the castle. Belle continues to refuse Maleficent's demands, even under the threat of torture. Sora arrives just in time, as does the Beast. Belle continues her increasingly rude attitude towards the Beast upon seeing him, prompting the Beast to pour out his true feelings for her. Maleficent then threatens to steal the Beast's heart, which he has shown to be rich and vulnerable when explaining his love for Belle. As Maleficent attempts to take the Beast's heart, Belle sacrifices herself to save him. Maleficent later reveals to the Beast, Sora, Donald and Goofy that Belle had been purposefully shunning the Beast in an attempt to prevent herself from exposing his heart for Maleficent to use for dark magic. After Sora defeats Maleficent, Belle is returned to her physical state with her heart intact. She quickly apologizes for her actions, which the Beast easily forgives knowing that they were not her true feelings. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Belle appears alongside Beast in Beast's Castle in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. As the story takes place after the original Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast have returned to Beast's Castle safe and sound and are trying to forget everything that happened. But when Xaldin from Organization XIII takes interest in the Beast's heart, their peaceful days are troubled. Kingdom Hearts II A year after the events of Kingdom Hearts, Belle and the Beast attempt to return back to their normal lives at the Beast's Castle. However, the peace is soon disrupted by Organization XIII member Xaldin. Xaldin begins playing on the Beast's anger, attempting to enrage him to the point that his heart would be drenched in darkness, thus spawning an extremely powerful Heartless and Nobody variation of the Beast for the Organization to use. In an attempt to keep them safe, the Beast forces the majority of his servants into the castle's dungeon. Belle, not knowing what to do and fearing the Beast's sudden surge of rage, hides in her room in fear. She is overjoyed when Sora, Donald and Goofy happened to drop by. She also gives a Donald a big hug. Once Sora freed the servants from the dungeon and utilized their aid to make the Beast calm down, the Beast realizes he had been rude to Belle in his blind rage. Hoping to apologize, he heads off with Sora to find her, only to hear her muffled voice in the castle's ballroom. Belle has taken it upon herself to confront Xaldin on her own, warning him to leave the Beast alone. Xaldin uses his influence of the darkness to set a Shadow Stalker on Belle. She manages to evade it, escaping to the ballroom's balcony. After the creature was defeated, the Beast apologizes to Belle, who accepts his kind words but reprimands him for not trusting her. When Sora and the others visit Hollow Bastion for the third time, her name is found out to be part of a password to access the DTD's dataspace, along with the other princesses. Sora later returns to Beast's Castle to find Belle and the Beast in the middle of a date. As the couple begin a romantic dance in the ballroom, Xaldin interrupts the celebration, much to Belle's displeasure. She is forced to briefly retreat as Xaldin sent a horde of Nobodies after Sora and the Beast. When the enemies are defeated, Belle returns only to find the Beast in great distress about his enchanted rose. Following him upstairs, she pleads with the Beast to explain what was wrong, but the Beast's frustration simply leads him to order Belle and Sora to leave the castle. Belle retreats to her room in despair, eventually going out to the balcony to mull things over. When she later spots the Beast, along with Sora, Goofy and Donald, emerging into the castle courtyard she heads back inside, but on her way spots the rose sitting near the door. Happily showing off the rose to her companions below, she soon realizes the whole thing was a setup as Xaldin grabs her from behind and flies her to the bridge outside the Beast's Castle. As Xaldin offers the Beast a choice between Belle or the rose, Belle shows Xaldin she is not just a simple village girl. She elbows the Organization XIII member hard in the stomach and, smiling to herself, runs back to the castle clutching the rose in its bell jar. Once the Beast and Sora defeat Xaldin, Belle gladly returns the rose to the Beast. He then nervously asks her to stay with him in his castle, to which she happily agrees. At the conclusion of Sora's adventure in Kingdom Hearts II it is revealed that the Beast has transformed back into Prince Adam, apparently ending the Beauty and the Beast story arc in the series, although Belle's status as one of the Princesses of Heart may still tie her in to future Kingdom Hearts adventures. Story of Joining Sora's Team When Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto entered the Beasts Castle, they find Belle and Prince Adam being attacked by Demyx and Nobodies. When the group engaged in combat, Demyx used a "reversal ending potion" it almost touched Belle, but when the prince took the potion, he turned back into a beast, but this time he can turn into the beast whenever he wants to as only half touched him. When Adam decided to help, Belle became worried, and during the showdown, she saw that 6 puddles of the potion morfed into blobs and touched Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, Chip Potts, Maurice, and Fifi, they turned into materials again. Soon when they showdown continued, Belle feels magic from her heart and knew exactly how to help instead of just standing around worried. She helped by forging the power of her "Princess Heart" with Sora's Keyblade, and made the showdown lasted about 56 seconds. After the fight, Belle's appearance changed and they all knew that belle had to join, and so did Belle knew also. She decide to join with no question, which lead the beast, and her other friends join also to stop Master Xehanort, and Maleficent. 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